The Pearl Study Guide
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John Steinbeck wrote his book “The Pearl” in 1947. It is a story about family, dreams, and human greed. The writer managed to write a strong novel using very simple text.
The protagonists of the story are Kino, the pearl diver, his wife Juana and their baby Coyotito. One day, when a scorpion bites the boy, the whole family and a couple of curious villagers take off to see the doctor. At the doctor’s office, the family faces the unwillingness of the man to deliver care due to Kino’s race and his inability to pay for the services.
The family goes back, caring for the health of the boy using the seaweed and other natural remedies. One day Kino is lucky enough to find an enormously big pearl. All of the sudden the family is confronted with this immense burden of possibilities the possession of the pearl offers. The doctors, the priests, as well as other inhabitants pay regular visits to Kino’s hut now.
Every human tends to wish for more than what he or she has. But the length to which people are willing to go in order to get the pearl or at least a part of the wealth it offers is unbelievable. The great pearl that was supposed to improve the lives of the family, give education to their one and only child, turned out to be the messenger of evil. It brought up the worst in the human nature: greediness, lies, evil, rage, and hypocrisy.
Can a small and simple family resist the temptation to give into the jealousy and competition? Or maybe they should give up the pearl along with any hopes of getting out of poverty if they want to maintain the relationship they have?
“The Pearl” is a small novella with a simple plot and predictable actions. But the readers can relate to every character, every chapter of the book. Despite its simplicity, the text is rich in meanings, wisdom, and sadness.
Author: Frank Frazier
New Essays
Have you ever been told you were greedy? When Kino found the Pearl, he was suddenly changed by it. He became greedy and selfish the longer he had and thought of the Pearl. Taking possession over the Pearl also caused him to make horrible decisions. Lastly, the incredible find of it made him...
The Pearl, Interpretive Essay In The Pearl, the author, John Steinbeck, uses the pearl to express what human nature is like. At the beginning of the novel, the pearl that Kino finds is described as large as being incandescent and as "perfect as the moon"; by the end of the novel, the pearl that...
The successful novella called the Pearl was written in 1945 by John Steinbeck who explores the themes of oppression, greed, evil and their connections to his great wealth through the characterisation of the Doctor, an essential character in the book. John Steinbeck uses literary devices such as...
In The Pearl, John Steinbeck describes pearl diving consisting of two ropes tied one to a stone and the other to a basket. The basket remained in the canoe while the rock went down under and lead him to the bottom of the water. "Kino had two ropes, one tied to a heavy stone and one to a basket. He...